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On Homecoming night, the Murray Mustangs took on the East Union Eagles as they looked for their second win of the season. A back and forth scoring game that went into halftime tied 24-24, the Eagles managed to fly away in the second half to end the game 64-40.
The game began with Murray receiving the ball, with a series of short gains of passes to Nolan Gannon and AJ Clarke bringing the Mustangs downfield. Quarterback Keegan Chew rushed the ball and was hit by East Union’s Coltyn Kelly to bring the play to fourth-and-3. A pass to Gannon from Chew had him over and around the Eagle defense and in for an 11-yard touchdown with 8:35 left in the quarter. Murray tried for an extra 2-points, but the run failed.
A kick across centerfield had East Union take over, but a false start moved them back down near their 25-yard line. Gannon took down quarterback Braxdyn Tucker, with the next pass intended for Paul McNeill defended by Jaxon Darby. On the next play, Tucker kept the ball and ran down the sidelines for a first down. A long pass to McNeill in the end zone was broken up by Clarke, who two plays later took down the QB just over the 5-yard line. A false start on fourth-and-4 backed Afton up, but a pass to Bryce Pettit in the end zone found its mark. A pass from Tucker to Jensen Waigand was good for an extra two.
Both teams turned over the ball on downs before the first quarter ran out.
A near five-minute drive at the start of the second quarter by Murray made slow gains on yards and downs before Clarke made it in for a 9-yard receiving touchdown. An attempted pass to Clarke failed. About 90 seconds later, Waigand took a 28-yard reception for a touchdown, and a pass from Tucker to Clear for 2-points was good to move East Union ahead by 4 points.
Murray returned to the scoreboard moments later, as Gannon returned a 74-yard kickoff for 6. The Mustangs held the Eagles on third down, forcing East Union to turn the ball over at their own 36-yard line as a pass attempt on fourth-and-10 to McNeill was incomplete.
Taking over, Clarke caught a 36-yard pass in the end zone to move them back ahead 24-16. A 2-point attempt found the ball in Keaton Brammer’s hands but unable to make it across the goal line. Afton returned with a 40-yard pass to Waigand in Murray’s end zone with another 2-points after to tie the game 24-24.
One interception by Brammer had a return of 25-yards with less than a minute in the half, but Murray was unable to score before going into halftime.
Eagles take flight
Coming back from halftime, the Eagles were able to pull ahead by 16 points in the first three and a half minutes of play. The first came with a 43-yard run by Caden Clear 43 seconds into play followed by a 2-point conversion. Pushed deep into the red zone, Murray was unable to get ahead before Clear intercepted a pass for a 1-yard Eagles touchdown followed by a Tucker run after.
East Union had another interception, but the Murray defense came out strong, holding them from the first down. Ulitmately it was penalties in Afton’s favor that placed them closer to goal and McNeil in for another 6. A 2-point conversion moved East Union to 48-24 at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter opened with a Murray drive culminating in Gannon scoring on a 2-yard run, followed by a successful pass from Chew to Gannon. On Afton’s possession, Murray was able to catch a small break as an Eagle touchdown came back for a personal foul call. However on second-and-17, a pass to McNeill was just out of reach for the Murray defense as McNeill brought the ball in for a 48-yard receiving touchdown. With a 2-point conversion after, the scored widened back to 56-32.
Both teams would turn the ball over on downs before Murray found themselves at first-and-goal. On third-and-1, Chew ran the ball in the remaining yard for the Mustangs’ final touchdown of the evening and their final 2-points a moment later. East Union’s Wyatt Kelley made it in for a 33-yard run with Tucker adding 2 points after. On their final possession, Murray was unable to get their long passes to find receivers and had to turn the ball over. As time ran down on the clock, Tucker took a knee to end the game.
The homecoming loss moves Murray to 1-4. They play at Bedford (4-1) tomorrow, who currently lead the series 4-0 in games played since 2016. Last year, the Bulldogs shutout the Mustangs 60-0.
Game stats
East Union 64, Murray 40
EU 8 16 24 16
MUR 6 18 0 16
TEAM STATS
MUR EU
Rushes-yards 39-138 37-251
Passing 16-37-2 13-25-2
Passing yards 223 200
Total yards 361 451
Punts-avg. 1-25 1-19
Fumbles lost 1-0 1-0
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING – MUR: Keegan Chew 16-22, 1 TD; Nolan Gannon 23-116, 2 TD. EU: Wyatt Kelly 13-125, 1 TD; Bryce Pettit 4-10; Caden Clear 5-54, 2 TD; Braxdyn Tucker 15-50.
PASSING – MUR: Chew 16-37 for 223 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT. EU: Tucker 13-25 for 195 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT.
RECEIVING – MUR: Keaton Brammer 6-64; AJ Clarke 6-103, 2 TD; Jaxon Darby 4-56. EU: Kelly 2-7; Jensen Waigand 1-28, 1 TD; Paul McNeill 8-136, 3 TD; Pettit 1-18, 1 TD; Coltyn Kelly 1-6.
TACKLES (total-solo) – MUR: Chew ½-0; Clarke 6-5; Darby 5 ½-3; Wylee Wright 7 ½-5; Gannon 14 ½-11; Wyatt Patton 5-4; Grady Mongar 1 ½-0; Brock Heaberlin ½-0; Trevor Eckels 2-1; Ace Neisemier 4-2. EU: Wyatt 5-3; Waigand 6 ½-5; McNeill 3 ½-3; Pettit 7 ½-7; Anthony Pantoja 1-1; Morgan Cooley 4 ½-4; Clear 5-3; Tucker 4 ½-4; Quinten Albrechtsen 2-1; Coltyn 4-2; Brock Jones 2-0; Kayson Harper 1 ½-0; Elijah Mulkey 2-0; Wyatt Fraiser 4-2.
TACKLES FOR LOSS – MUR: Wright 1; Gannon 1. EU: Cooley 2 ½; Jones ½; Fraiser 1.
SACKS – MUR: Wright 1. EU: Cooley ½; Fraiser ½.
INTERCEPTIONS – MUR: Brammer 2. EU: Pettit 1; Coltyn 1.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES – MUR: 0. EU: 0.
PUNTING – MUR: 1-25. EU: Kelly 1-19.
KICK RETURNS for TD – MUR: Gannon 1 for 74 yards. EU: 0.
2PT CONVERSION – MUR: Clarke 1; Gannon 1. EU: Wyatt 2; Waigand 1; Clear 2; Tucker 2; Coltyn 1.